News & Update

The ideal time to recite this raag is in the winter season.
The word Tushar means frost.

Guru Ram Das ji

Ang 1113
Guru ji refers to the rain bird cries “Prio Prio”
“O beloved” the rain bird cries night and day…my thirst is not quenched without You.

For me this painting has a personal story….
My Dad a physician, teacher, who had an eye for things artistic….on his visits, would check out and critique my addition to this series.

For this raag I had painted a different composition…I shared with him how I was challenged by the forest scene, the source of light, the bird itself….Dad listened….then encouraged me that if I was so challenged with this one, then to start afresh. So I redid this one with a more mystical composition…..sadly Dad was not here to see the redo, but each time I look at it I am reminded of his gentle encouragement.
So the process of making this painting was more personal one for me.

So…..Let’s look at the painting…the rain bird in flight trying to place itself strategically so as to receive the drop of rain….the light source is from above and is also the source of the rain drop…..
The thirst of the rain drop inspires the thirst for Naam.

~ Dr Navjeet Singh

The ideal time to recite this raag is late afternoon or sunset.
Bhagat Kabeer ji says ……

Ang 1105: …..he alone is a spiritual hero who goes to the battle to fight for the meek ——-and never leaves or runs from the battlefield.

Kabeer ji describes what it means to be heroic….

1) to stand up for the meek….to fight against injustice done upon others, in particular those who are unable to defend them selves…the meek.
2) In addition to this, to have the courage to subdue the evil traits within one’s own mind.

The two swords are suggestive of these values of the truly brave…
The choice of colors is for a late afternoon, which is the ideal time for this raag.

~ Dr Navjeet Kaur

A ray of hope in darkness
and a savior in the ocean-like world,
Guru Arjan Dev ji – the fifth guru
Is the Sikh martyrdom’s herald.

He chose faith over life
and upheld the Sikh philosophy.
Undeterred by days of torture,
He vanquished every fallacy.

In theses days of blistering heat,
Sitting cross-legged on a burning plate,
In sweet remembrance of Waheguru
he accepted every turn of fate.

In complete acceptance of Waheguru’s will
and with a valiance that has no equals,
he stood for what was divine and right
in conditions that have no parallels!

In a world that needs his virtues,
his legacy must perpetuate.
He set a precedent for us – his children,
of an inspiration so great.

He lives in us as a guiding light,
as a proof of a will indefatigable.
He taught us how to stand upright
for rights that are inalienable. . .

~ by Prabhjot Singh

Rabinder Singh QC has created history after becoming the first Sikh to be appointed as a High Court judge.

The 47-year-old is set to take up his position on the Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) in October and will preside over cases wearing a turban rather than the traditional judicial wig.

Singh is the first male from an ethnic background to be made a High Court judge and his appointment comes at a time when diversity in the judiciary is being looked at by a House of Lords select committee.

But his selection is far from being a response to a lack of representation from the BME community.

Singh has been seen as a high caliber appointment and someone who can inspire more members from the ethnic community to aim to get to his level.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said,”The appointment of Mr Rabinder Singh QC, a talented and highly respected barrister, to the High Court, represents a real landmark in the drive to create a more diverse judiciary which continues to attract the highest quality candidates.”

Singh was one of the founding members of Matrix Chambers in 2000 and has been known as a staunch defender of human rights. In 2004, he successfully represented human rights group Liberty, in the House of Lords against the indefinite detention without trial of non-UK national suspected of terrorist activities.

A year later, Singh again was successful representing Liberty and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in the case against the UK government over the refusal of economic benefits to refugees.

Born in Bristol in 1964, Singh achieved a double first in law at the Trinity College University of Cambridge in 1985 and four years later he was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn and was one of the Junior Counsel to the Crown (A Panel) until he took silk in 2002. He has also been the recipient of a number of awards including being named Barrister of the Year in 2001 by Lawyer magazine.

Singh was also given the award of Human Rights Lawyer of the Year (JUSTICE/Liberty) in 2006 and in 2010 was Human Rights and Public Law Silk of the Year (Chambers Bar Awards).

~ Source: www.obv.org.uk

Three Indian race walkers — Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar — qualified for the Rio Olympics after creditable performances in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge at Rio Maior in Portugal.

National women’s 20km walk record holder Khushbir Kaur clocked 1:33:58, better than Rio 2016 qualification time of 1:35, though she finished 13th in the race.

In the men’s 20km race walk, Manish Rawat logged a personal best performance to finish in top 10 with a timing of 1:22:50, well above Rio Games qualification time of 1:24.

National 50km race walk record holder Sandeep Kumar also qualified for Rio Games with a 14th-place finish in 1:23:32 though he received one warning.

The third walker in men’s 20km race walk, Devender Singh, missed out on the qualification with 18th place finish in 1:24:57. The fourth walker, Ganpathy Krishnan, finished on 29th place with 1:27:05.

India’s race walk squad were currently training in Rio Maior, Portugal, with the primary objective of Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification. They took part in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, also called Rio Maior Race Walking International Grand Prix.

~ Source: www.hindustantimes.com

Charanjeet Singh was working with an MNC until an accident forced him to be on a break in Amritsar. When he observed this selfless act of an elderly man, he decided to share this story with us in order to inspire us all and give recognition to an unsung hero.

I was on my way to meet one of my friends and I was so frustrated with the traffic at the Crystal Chowk, Queens road (Amritsar). I got stuck at this roundabout for almost 15 minutes because of traffic and to make it worse the traffic lights were not working which made every thing chaotic. Somehow, after about half an hour later, I was able to cross that roundabout. And what was making me even more scared was that I had to get back via this same route after meeting my friend.

And to my surprise when I was coming back all the traffic was smoothly managed even though there was no traffic cop and the traffic lights were still not working. I saw one elderly gentleman guiding the traffic and he was doing it very well.

I parked my car on the side (ensuring it’s away from all the traffic!) and started observing. I was really intrigued and impressed and so eventually I walked upto him and thanked him for what he was doing. And while I was talking to him, the traffic lights resumed working. He introduced himself and offered me a cup of tea. We went to a nearby tea stall and got talking more. His name was Sh. Harjinder Singh, a senior citizen aged 65 years and had retired from the post of a police sub-inspector in August 2009. Ever since, he has been providing his services to regulate traffic! He works selflessly towards reducing the traffic chaos and teaching traffic etiquette to drivers.
I was curious and asked him that since he had retired and this was the time when he could just sit back at home and play with his grandchildren or do any leisurely activity, why would he do all this? And his answer was,

“I had watched civilians working as traffic marshals to manage traffic in some foreign countries on television. It instantly came to my mind that I can also work as a traffic marshal after retirement,” said Harjinder Singh.
More and more people should come forward to reduce the traffic chaos in the city,” he added. “I feel that there is a need to educate school students as they are the future drivers.”

He was very happy and shared his phone number with me and he thanked me for stopping by and acknowledging his efforts.

“It motivates me to save people’s lives from road accidents,” he added.

We still have people in our society who work for the welfare of society. He is 65 and could’ve easily taken a more relaxed path in life. However, he patrols around the city on his bike all day and offers his service wherever it is required. He doesn’t get paid for this job – in fact he uses his retirement savings to contribute towards regulating traffic.

-Shared by Charanjeet Singh
Source: www.thebetterindia.com

His Selfless act comes forth as a unique exemplary to Humanity!

He is property magnate Peter Virdee, managing director of Mayfair-based B&S Property, which bought the site in Colindale after the original owners ran into financial difficulties.

The Sikh businessman, who started his career working in his family’s retail firm, built residential care homes before moving into property. He has extensive interests abroad, which he manages with the help of his father, and has been nominated for a Lloyds TSB Asian Jewel commerce award.

Mr Virdee said today he was “absolutely confident” the Oriental City scheme would go ahead despite the economic downturn and property slump, adding: “It would be foolish to say that recent events have had no impact. We are looking at a phased development. The market will be the first part to be constructed so the traders will be the first to return to the site.

“But we will take a wait-and-see approach with the residential component. In the current climate it would be wiser to wait until the housing market recovers before starting construction,” he said.

The site, dubbed the “real Chinatown”, was a shrine for lovers of Oriental food and was home to traders from the Chinese, Japanese, Malay, Thai and Filipino communities.

Plans to redevelop the dilapidated food hall caused uproar, because it would mean the traders moving out while the work was carried out. The traders’ case was backed by both the Commission for Racial Equality and the Chinese government, but the redevelopment proposal was eventually pushed through last March after former mayor Ken Livingstone pledged a £2 million compensation package for the displaced traders. The original owner, Development Securities, was granted planning permission to build a larger market, two major stores, 520 one- and two-bedroom flats and a primary school.

It then sold the site to Mr Virdee’s Mayfair-based B&S in a £68 million deal. The lack of construction activity since last year’s sale had raised fears the project had fallen victim to the credit crunch. However, Mr Virdee told the Standard the scheme is on course and demolition work is due to start imminently.

He said: “We are in ownership of the site and there are no issues regarding financing. Everything is proceeding normally. We’ve signed deals with the contractors and all we’re waiting on is for the final clearance from the council (Barnet). The demolition could start at any time within the next few weeks.”

~ Source: www.standard.co.uk